Jefferson Parish Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng was involved with plans to reshape the section of Metairie when she heard about arrests in February for underage drinking at the Forum Club, 3208 N. Arnoult Road.

Brett Duke/The Times-PicayuneJoe Ancona, who owns the building where the Forum Club operated before shutting down over underage drinking arrests, wants to sign new tenants in the building but might be prevented from allowing another bar under parish zoning codes.Already in the midst of researching the codes governing drinking establishments, she dusted off a little-used ordinance letting the Parish Council convene a review committee to hear arguments on granting or denying liquor licenses.

In March the committee met for the first time since the 1980s, parish officials said, and the Forum Club's owner promised stepped-up efforts to ensure minors couldn't buy alcohol.

But the Sheriff's Office made another round of underage drinking arrests there on April 1.

That prompted the bar's landlord, Joe Ancona, to order it to vacate the property.

The bar's owner, Aaron Dirks, said he fired the manager and all the employees and willingly closed the bar, saying he didn't want the risk of maintaining a troubled business.

And at Lee-Sheng's urging, the Parish Council on Wednesday rejected its alcohol permit.

Lee-Sheng said the committee is a tool available to the council to police alcoholic beverage outlets, although the council retains the sole authority to approve or reject permits.

"It was on the books, but it wasn't used," Lee-Sheng said. "It's one of the reasons why Fat City has never really realized its natural advantages because we've never been strict in enforcing the bars."

Last year Lee-Sheng sponsored a measure that lets the Parish Council reject an alcohol permit renewal if a bar is the subject of 10 or more police calls for service within a month.

Now she is working on clarifying the description of the review committee, which includes representatives of various parish departments. The code doesn't say, for example, whether the committee should only hold hearings or whether it should go another step and make recommendations to the council.

The panel took no official position when it met in March on the Forum Club.

The move to pull the club's permit represents a small piece in a long-term Fat City plan that the Jefferson Economic Development Commission sponsored and the Parish Council endorsed last year.

Recent drainage and sidewalk improvements along 18th Street were another early step. Parish planners currently are working on a new zoning scheme in keeping with the JEDCO plan.

Heralding Fat City's location as an ideal spot for a central, defining district in East Jefferson, the plan envisions a pleasant, tidy, town square setting that would attract diners, shoppers and new residents.

Numerous past dreams for Fat City never achieved fruition, however. And the latest move at the Forum Club illustrates some of the complications.

Ancona, owner of the building where the bar operated, says he fully supports the rethinking of Fat City. But in this case it threatens his livelihood.

He has long operated a martial arts gymnasium in the building and bought the property two years ago. With the Forum Club gone, he hoped to sign new tenants to run a sports bar and grill that could hold mixed martial arts events, complementing his gym.

The disruption in the use of the space as a bar, however, might torpedo the plan. Lee-Sheng said the building is designated instead for commercial uses that don't include alcohol and never had the proper zoning for a bar, but the parish let the Forum Club operate with non-conforming status. The parish's newly strict stance means it will enforce the zoning code, too, in addition to the alcohol ordinance.

"My place is not built for that," Ancona said. "My place is built for bars or restaurants."

"If they want me to change it, they need to help me change it," he said, adding that he cannot afford the cost of renovating the building into a retail store or another type of business.

Dirks, the Forum Club owner, also questioned Lee-Sheng's approach, saying it seems to stymie instead of spur economic development in Fat City.

"Why wouldn't the council member go to great lengths to preserve the tax base for the citizens?" Dirks said.